Newly-appointed Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was greeted with “chor chor” (thief) slogans during his first international visit to Saudi Arabia, several videos shared on local channels show.
The video is apparently from the Masjid-e-Nabawi in Madina and was recorded on Thursday. The short clip shows hundreds of pilgrims shouting “chor chor” and holding up their mobile phones as the Pak delegation made its way.
Watch the video here:
Moneycontrol cannot independently verify the authenticity of the video. News agency ANI reported that several of the miscreants were arrested after the incident for violating the sanctity of the holy site.
Sharif was accompanied by top officials including Information Minister Maryam Aurangzaib and member of the National Assembly Shahzain Bugti, Pakistan news channels and portals reported.
In a report by Pakistani daily The Express Tribune, Aurangzaib blamed ousted premier Imran Khan for the protest in Saudi. "I will not name this person on this holy land because I do not want to use this land for politics. But they have destroyed the (Pakistani) society," the minister was quoted as saying by the newspaper.
However, Pakistan’s former human rights minister Shireen Mazari, had a counter.
"Imported govt of criminals brought in by US regime change conspiracy met by chants of "thieves" in Madina Sharif. I deleted the video tweeted earlier because I heard some abusive words, especially inappropriate in a place of worship. This criminal gang will be shamed by Pakistanis wherever they go,” the member of Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), tweeted.
Sharif took over as Pakistan’s prime minister on April 11 after his predecessor cricketer-politician Imran Khan was ousted in a no-confidence vote.
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